May9, 2018

WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Representative Albio Sires (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, issued the following statement:

“We congratulate María Consuelo Porras Argueta on her appointment as Guatemala's next Attorney General and look forward to supporting her office in its continued fight against corruption and impunity.

“In recent years, Guatemalan Attorneys General have partnered with the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) to make it clear that there is no room for corruption in the country, and no one is above the law. These actions have transformed Guatemalan society and elicited strong bipartisan support from the United States Congress. They also have made CICIG and the Attorney General’s Office among the most trusted institutions in Guatemala.

“We reject all efforts to delegitimize CICIG and continue to stand with its Commissioner Ivan Velasquez and the Attorney General’s office as they carry out their crucial work.”